Now the fun starts for Penn football

When it comes to Ivy League football, the old adage is wrong: Instead, it’s not how you start the season, it’s how you start conference play.

After losing two tough nonconference games, Penn football will begin Ivy play in Hanover this Saturday, facing a strong Dartmouth team that took the Quakers to the wire last season.

The Red and Blue (0-2) lost their first two games this season, giving up 72 combined points to Jacksonville and Villanova. And this comes on the heels of last season’s disappointing finish, in which Penn gave up 36 points per contest in its final four games, all losses.

Despite the six-game losing streak and defensive struggles, the Quakers are still confident — from the captains on down — heading into their matchup with the Big Green (1-1).

“Our confidence is definitely still pretty high,” senior captain and defensive back Evan Jackson said. “We had a lot of kinks that needed to be ironed out in our first two games. But we have to keep our confidence high, especially because the Ivy schedule starts now and we cannot have any more letdowns.”

While confidence may be up, Penn has another kink to work out before Saturday: the status of senior captain and linebacker Dan Davis.

Davis suffered a concussion in the 41-7 loss to the Wildcats, and his status is up in the air. Coach Al Bagnoli was hopeful that Davis would practice this week after running and biking during Tuesday’s practice.

If Davis is unable to go, the Quakers have a few options to turn to at linebacker.

“We’re fortunate that we have [sophomore linebacker] Donald Panciello back,” Bagnoli said. “Donald was out the first four, five weeks [of practice] with a high ankle sprain. He played a lot of snaps against Villanova, and he’s a good football player in his own right.

“Between him and [junior] Nolan Biegel and [senior] Brion Wood, those will be the three guys if [Davis] can’t go, plus we have some young guys on top of that.”

Whoever is starting at linebacker will have to contend with one of the Ivy League’s premier quarterbacks: junior Dalyn Williams. A dual-threat QB, Williams has been hurting opposing defenses as much with his legs as with his arm.

Williams will have senior Kyle Bramble beside him at running back and a few solid receivers — including junior Victor Williams and senior Ryan McManus — adding up to a strong offensive attack that could give Penn trouble.

“We’ve got to try to limit the big plays,” Bagnoli said. “[Dalyn Williams] has that ability to make plays with his feet, make people miss in space. I think that’s always a great asset to have in your quarterback so we’ll have to be smart in how we pressure him.”

Last season, the Big Green very nearly upset the Red and Blue at Franklin Field, but a blocked kick by then-senior linebacker David Park prevented a game-winning field goal. From there, the two squads went to four overtimes that Bagnoli jokes took five years off his life.

Senior running back Kyle Wilcox won that game with a 20-yard touchdown run. But this year, Penn’s offense will rely on the progression of sophomore quarterback Alek Torgersen, who is making his third career start.

“He’s a tough kid,” Bagnoli said of Torgersen. “He’s a competitive kid. He’ll continue to grow and improve, and we’re counting on him to do some great things.”

Saturday’s matchup will be Torgersen’s first game in Hanover and his first Ivy start, but it will be Bagnoli’s last game against Dartmouth, the first team he faced as Penn’s head coach. Don’t expect Bagnoli to be sentimental, though.

“I’m certainly not going to miss the bus ride,” he quipped.

He may not miss it, but the Quakers are one last bus ride before Ivy play starts. Let the games begin.

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